MEHANNA ROAD

Good news and bad news for Day #4.  Mark G. was feeling mostly back to normal but our two ladies, Yvette and Ginger were both down with sickness.  We did what we could for them to help them feel better before we left but ended up letting them stay at the guest house to rest.

Today we were heading to Y, a village that we previously had been asked not to return to when we attempted to show the Jesus film.  A previous team from FBC was able to spend two days this past January providing vaccination shots to the children and we determined that a return trip to attempt storying was in order.  Unsure how we would be received, we drive to Y to see what we could find.

When we arrived, we were greeted by a man who took Jeff, Tim and Laoualy to meet with the chief while the rest of the team visited with a very nice man who was surrounded by the local children.  He told us he was from Y and occasionally had to leave his village to find work in Ghana to help support his family.  However, he said he always returned in the planting season to help with the millet farming.

Soon the chief arrived and stopped by the van greeting the team members there before inviting everyone to follow him back to his home.  Jeff and Tim were surprised to see the rest of the team following the chief as he entered his courtyard area.  Chairs were brought for everyone in our team to sit upon while the chief himself sat on a modest wooden stool.  The courtesy and graciousness of all village along the road is enormous.  Every stranger in their village is treated like a king.

The chief, who previously had prevented the Jesus film from showing, informed our team of the best location to perform our drama just off the main market square.  We found out later that the man we'd been speaking to while waiting for the chief was actually the chief's son.  We drove the van to the location and setup the drama while some of the team sang and taught songs to the children.  When the children were asked if they could sing a song for us, they replied "we don't have a song."  Our hearts broke when we heard them say this so we immediately taught them a song, Irikoy Saabu to the tune of "Hallelujah, Praise Ye the Lord."  Smiles erupted from all involved and the children really enjoyed the singing.

Our performance was one of the best attended so far with the largest number of adult men showing up and watching it all.  The crowd was very respectful and cheered for Jesus when we healed the demon-possessed man and also when Jesus rose from the dead at the resurrection.  The story of the "prodigal son" (pictured at left) was especially touching as Laoualy portrayed the son who finds forgiveness in the arms of his father. Just as we portrayed the son's forgiveness, so does God desperately desire to bring the Songhai to Him when they understand that He wants to live in their hearts.

At the end of the performance, a fervent prayer was lifted for the village and the people as many had never heard the Gospel preached before.  We continue to pray for this village as well as the others that the seed that has been planted will take root and grow in their hearts.  Our team firmly believes that our success at performing for the town was made possible by prayer and previous visits by other FBC teams to provide favor for us to perform in what we previously considered a "closed town" to the Gospel.  Praise the Lord.

 In His service,
"The Seven"